Does Tv Make one Smarter?

Does TV Make One Smarter?

Television has drastically changed over the past few years with new technology, new rising actors, new genres, and more violence. Humans engage in what type of television they are interested in and fall into a routine of watching it. The generation has changed and television does not have that black and white picture with the family audience scenes anymore. Stephen Johnson, the author of Watching TV Makes You Smarter, insists that television nowadays really does make one smarter. He lists throughout his reading different shows that have risen in popularity just because of its mystified and challenging plots. Johnson expresses that some television makes the plot too clear and easily attained, making popular television more difficult to follow. Reality shows, video games, and traditional narrative shows generates emotional ties with the viewers which sparks the viewers interest whether the TV shows are “good or bad” by the different plots and conflicts.

I’m of two minds about Johnson’s claim watching TV makes you smarter. On one hand I agree that the best television shows are the ones that leave you on the edge of your seat in suspense and you can walk away having learned something. On the other hand, I’m not sure if taking away violence and suggested behavior is beneficial to the viewers, for it might lower the excitement of the show. Johnson states, “It’s assumed that shows that promote smoking or gratuitous violence are bad for us, while those that thunder against teen pregnancy or intolerance have a positive role in society.” I take from this, television is becoming more realistic with the new generation and has the intention of helping society by informing viewers of events happening in the real world today. Johnson then states, “The usual counterargument here is what the media have lost in moral clarity, they have gained in realism.” Television back 20 years ago seemed to have the traditional stories that taught the viewer respected morals and made the plot more evident. There is violence in the world today people need to be aware of, but there is no need to add irrelevant events just to boost the suspicion of the climax. Television shows that pile untied kinks upon another causing the viewer wanting to pull their hair out in suspense should be taken down a level. Children growing up in this time period watch more TV and learn things faster than adults did when they were younger. With this being said, they might be at a disadvantage of learning too much too fast, not leaving time for maturity to set in to understand what a show portrays.

Johnson believes that “hand holding” throughout shows do not leave the viewer grasping the true plot of the film watched. He also says that the dialogue has changed as well. Nevertheless dialogue has been amped up to convey different ways of twisting and turning viewers minds to grasp the